Midnight Hearts
by Omega Ultra
Summary: One-Shot: On a dark night Steven finds himself unable to fall asleep. So who else to help him out then his new best friend, Spinel!


**A/N Hey guys! Man, it's been like… I dunno 4 years since I last wrote something for the Steven Universe fandom. Anyways, I got this idea a few days ago and one of my friends encouraged me to write it. And since this is a pretty short prompt I decided "ehh, why not?" This is the result! I thank LovecraftFan for helping me out! You should check out his stuff when you finish here! I hope you guys enjoy!**

**R&R!**

Midnight Hearts

"Ugh! No! Please!" His voice cried out in the night as a certain young man tossed and turned in his bed. He clutched his sheets tightly, trying to do his best to protect himself from whatever dangers that seemed to plague his unconscious. And yet, in the next moment, he found himself rolling onto his back and shooting up, panting as he looked around in a cold sweat. _"That… that was just a dream,"_ he shook his head. _"That was just a dream…"_

"_But… but why did it feel so real?"_ he looked to his hands, a soft pink glow radiating from them, before slowly dissipating. Quickly shaking his head, he glanced out his window. It had been only a few days since the incident with Spinel's injector, but Beach City seemed to have recovered completely, with the once destroyed roads and grasslands restored to their former glory. Of course, it helped that the Crystal Gems were willing to offer their help.

"_Right… Beach City is fine…"_ he tucked himself under the covered and stared up, hoping to doze off and find that it was already morning again… though this proved to not be the case. _"On nights like this, I wish I didn't throw out my Master of Ceremonies Bear Bear… yeah, I know I'm older and that I probably don't need those things anymore… but I just wish…"_

Steven sighed and turned over, before hopping to his feet. _"Maybe I just need a drink or something?"_ And slowly, he made his way down the stairs and walked towards the attached kitchen. *ring*

He looked to his gem, the diamond glowing softly in the moonlight, as if attempting to tell him something, though he didn't know what. "Well… I guess I have more powers or something…" he began to search his home. _"What if it's trying to warn me?"_ he darted his eyes from side to side, hoping to catch whatever was causing his gem to glow, but to no avail.

And yet, despite his fears, everything was still, and silent, with no danger that he could see.

But what his gaze fell upon was the warp pad in his living room. His gem seemed to glow brighter at the sight, urging him to step forward and be whisked away to parts unknown. Steven took one glance at his kitchen, tempted to simply make himself something to drink. _"But the last time I tried to make tea, I almost burned my house down…"_ he took a breath and shrugged. "Let's see what my gem is trying to show me."

With that, he stepped on the warp pad and beamed off.

In the next moment, he reappeared on a similar pad, his eyes opening to reveal a pink room filled with bubbles. Something that a child would no doubt enjoy with a passion. "I'm back on Homeworld? But why?"

His gem continued to glow.

"Steven's back!" A pebble shouted in excitement, before the tiny gems rushed out from their hiding places and tackled him to the ground, with some pushing up his shirt to reveal the glowing gem below. "Haha! Pink! Pink!" They cheered. While some jumped in his mouth

And Steven couldn't help but laugh in reply. "Haha you guys! I'm glad to see you too!" he immediately began to cough, forcing out what appeared to be a toy car. "Aww guys! Stop building things in my mouth!"

"Sorry, Steven," one of the pebbles rubbed the back of her head. "So, what brings you back to Homeworld, and so soon too?!"

He shrugged. "Not really sure," he held his arm and looked away. "I was having trouble sleeping and my gem took me here, and I don't know why."

"Well then, I guess we can figure out why, together," a familiar voice spoke up, causing Steven to look to the source: Spinel, her form having mostly reverted to her previous self. Her torso had returned to its pure white, while her messy pigtails were reformed into perfect hearts. Lastly, the black tears that once stained her cheeks had been removed. If it wasn't for the fact that her gem was upside down still, Steven would've mistaken her for her reset form!

"Hi Spinel!" The half-human boy put on a tired, but cheerful tone.

The gem stepped over and threw her arms around him. "Hiya Steven! I'm so glad to see you again! You should've called! I' would've gotten this place all tidied up for ya!""

Steven returned the affection. "Same here."

And at that moment, Steven's gem stopped glowing. _"Wait… this has something to do with her?"_

She pulled back, making sure to keep her arms stretched around the boy. "So, what brings you here?"

"Well… Spinel, I think my gem wants your help for one," he gave a little point at her. "And two… I'm having trouble sleeping."

Spinel scratched her head in confusion, making sure to put a little loop in her arm as she did so. "Uhh, what's sleep?"

"It's something us humans do," Steven rubbed the back of his head. "Not sure how to explain it, but it's really important for me," he then held his arm. "And well, I need some help."

She shrugged in response. "Ok then. Not really sure what you're talking about, but I'll see what I can do."

The young man smiled with that. "Thanks Spinel," before he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the warp pad. And in the next moment, they beamed off. Soon enough, the duo found themselves back in Steven's home, with him taking a step forward, pulling her still. "This way."

And with that, he climbed on his bed and pat the space next to him. "Lay down next to me."

"All right," Spinel shrugged and did so, prompting Steven to pull the covers over them. "Huh… this feels comfortable."

For a moment, Steven looked to Spinel with begging eyes, before he found himself wrapping his arms around her again, eliciting a small squeak as if she were a toy bear. "You're soft."

"Well, I was meant to be a plaything," Spinel awkwardly scratched the back of her head. And with that, Steven closed his eyes. _"He's adorable…"_

All seemed calm for a few moments, before suddenly, Steven let go of Spinel, quickly tossing and turning, pulling the covers along with him, his expression turning into one of fear and exhaustion.

"_He needs help!"_ quickly, Spinel wrapped her arms and shook him violently in a bid to quickly wake him up… which of course worked. "Steven! Wake up!"

"Huh? What?! Whoa!" Steven went, his voice noticeably exhausted as the gem put him down. "S-Spinel?"

"Are you ok, Steven?" Concern filled her voice as she sat him up and turned, placing her hands on his shoulders as she did so. "Y-you were turning and it looked like you were in pain or something.

Steven panted, cold sweat already making its way down Steven's head. "Y-yeah… just having a bad dream."

Spinel considered asking about what a dream was… though simply looked into his eyes, not wanting to bother him more. "What happened in it?"

"I… don't know," he looked away. "It's just, I'm running from a monster or something and I just don't know what to do…" he then turned and sighed, grasping the bed sheets tightly once again. "Sorry for bugging you Spinel. I don't know why my gem wanted me to talk to you…"

Spinel held her hand back for a moment, before placing it on his shoulder and pulling, turning him to face her. "I know I just met you and that you're not your mom… but there's more to it, isn't there?

"Maybe…" He looked away and shook his head.

"Well then, if we talk about that maybe, then we can figure out how to stop it," she poked him. "I am your new best friend after all."

He remained silent, as Spinel wrapped her arm around him. "Come on, why don't you tell me what actually happened in it? Maybe then I can tell you why you're feeling that way."

Steven turned to her, his begging expression simply countered by her own hopeful one. She gave him a reassuring smile, urging him to share with her.

"Spinel… ever since you came, I've been having nightmares about my mom," he started, his tone softening. "they always start with me standing in front of her, and her pulling out her sword and charging. I'm able to dodge, but then I find myself standing in front of Jasper, Lapis, Yellow and Blue, and even you, and you all combine into a black monster thing that eats me!"

"Wow… these dream things sound pretty interesting…" Spinel quipped.

"It's like a TV in your mind," he shook his head. "But that's beside the point…" his voice trailed off. "Spinel… when you came you decided to just attack me, and that's got me thinking, what if there are other gems like you? Friends and servants my mom had but then just threw away!"

He stretched his arms and fell back. "I know I have her gem, but I'm just a kid! So, what if I managed to convince the other Diamonds to stop colonizing other worlds?! I fought you and I could barely use that rejuvenator on you… you managed to beat all of my friends like it was nothing!"

"In you defense, I did catch you by surprise," Spinel gave a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"I know," his voice filled with despair. "But that doesn't matter. There are probably gems that could take us head-on and win no problem! Heck, there's one probably gearing up to invade earth again and start colonizing over and over again!" he held his head and bowed forward. "And I can't do anything to stop it…"

"Hey, Steven, chin up," Spinel placed a hand on his chin and turned it to face her. "Just because you failed the first time doesn't mean you're gonna mess up again. You've got the powers of Pink Diamond and your friends behind you. I know that you can handle whatever problem comes your way!"

"Y-you really think so, Spinel?" Steven turned to her, his voice filling with hope, while his eyes began to fill with tears.

"I know so!" she wrapped her arms around him again. "For the past six thousand years I stood alone in the garden, waiting for someone who would never come back for me! I was angry, lonely, in pain, but you, even though I did my best to hurt you- to kill you and everything you love, you didn't try to hurt me in return. You just pushed back," she smiled. "You Steven, you were my first friend… you're the first person who thought of me more than just a court jester."

Steven replied by wrapping his arms around her as well. "That's because you're more than just a jester. You're a good friend, Spinel. I'm sorry my mom didn't see you the same way."

"It's fine, really, it is," she gave a small, rather meek smile, before pulling him close. "Thank you, Steven. You don't have to worry about what your mom did, because you've already made up for it all."

With that, Steven pulled her close, eliciting another squeak from her. "Thanks Spinel… you're really soft. Like a teddy bear."

"_Don't know what that is, so I'll just take that as a compliment,"_ the gem chuckled, and rubbed her head. "Well, I was supposed to be Pink Diamond's plaything. I had to be fun to play with!" She chuckled. "For what it's worth, I love hugging you Steven… it's been a while since I got to hold onto someone like this. The Diamonds are fine, but, sometimes I wanna hold onto someone my own size."

With that, Steven closed his eyes and pulled her close, wrapping them in the covers as he did so. "Goodnight, Spinel"

"Goodnight, Steven," she smiled and whispered. "I love you."

*Snore* Steven went in reply. And for a moment, Spinel considered repeating herself, to tell Steven how she felt. And yet, she found herself closing her eyes and following him into dreamland. _"Let's see about this TV in my head."_

The End

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**A/N And there we go! I hope you guys enjoyed! And for my returning fans, don't worry, normal content returns tomorrow! Have a great weekend everyone!**


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